Human Emotion
by purrpickle
Summary: Time passes, and Luna finds herself as the confidante of Ikuko. As Usagi's mother finds a companion to spend her day with, Luna slowly begins to realize she wants more. Will she risk all to become the human Ikuko needs? Eventual shoujo ai.
1. Prologue

AN: Don't ask me where my ideas come from. I do not own Sailor Moon nor the characters within.

* * *

Luna was in trouble. Yes, she had found the warrior of the moon, trained her and given her all the tools she needed to vanquish the evil. She had watched over her and provided companionship, helped her hone the powers she had. She had found other warriors to fight alongside her. She had helped in saving the world countless times.

And she liked doing it.

But that wasn't the problem. Usagi wasn't the problem. No. But she WAS the reason Luna had gotten in trouble.

Actually, to be fair to the blonde, the one she could honestly say was responsible would have to be Queen Serenity. But by that token, perhaps she should blame Queen Beryl instead. If not for her attack, Serenity wouldn't have had to send her to the future to prepare Earth's defense. But if it was true that Beryl had been driven to attack because her spurned love for Prince Endymion had been twisted into dark power by Queen Metalia, she could choose to blame either the prince or the demon entity. But actually… Metalia wouldn't have reason to manipulate Beryl if Enydmion hadn't loved Princess Serenity, so it was actually the princess' fault. Which meant it actually WAS Usagi's fault.

Oh god. She was giving herself a headache. Groaning, the small black cat covered her eyes and shook her head.

Maybe she could make it simpler by just blaming Artemis. When she had needed him the most, the mangy white cat had been off with Minako, gallivanting around as Sailor V's advisor. She had missed his (sometimes) mature presence, his adult experiences she could relate to. While she loved the teenage girls she watched over, sometimes she just needed grown up time! Even if she was technically only in her early twenties in Mau years.

When Usagi had first brought her home, Luna had been prepared for anything. If she would have to skulk around and hide from the members of the girl's family, so be it. If they wanted to pamper her and provide endless petting and laps, all the better. But it had turned out to be a bit of both. Usagi's father ignored her, not being home for most of the time. Usagi treated her like a best friend. She'd had to win over Shingo, but in the end, she let him learn the places she loved to be stroked best. And Usagi's mother…

Luna sighed, jumping down from the windowsill she had been sunning herself on. She pushed herself out of the door Usagi had kindly left ajar for her and made her way down the stairs. The enticing smell of baking bread drew her to the kitchen. She mewed softly, alerting to her presence, leaping gracefully onto the counter.

Surprised, a pretty blue haired woman turned towards her, setting down the bowl she was getting ready to run water into. Her brown eyes smiling, Ikuko looked pleased to see her. "Luna! There you are, you silly cat. You didn't come when I called for you earlier! You must have been sound asleep, huh? Lying in the sun, I bet. Yes, you're nice and warm, aren't you?"

Luna purred, pressing her head into the woman's hand. She accepted a full body stroke, leaning into the pressure, knowing she'd fall over if the wonderful sensation withdrew. Out of everyone in the Tsukino family, Usagi's mother had the best hands. Sorry Usagi-chan, she thought without putting any regret into it, but it's true.

Ikuko chuckled and rubbed her knuckles under the black cat's chin. It felt divine, she moaned in her head. Her red eyes closed into half moons in pleasure, letting the woman know just how much the attention was appreciated. Luna did not often turn into her human form because, simply put, of this. While it also took WAY too much energy to transform frivolously, that body just wasn't as sensitive as this natural one.

Wait, what? Oh no. That was the ending pat. The touch that meant Ikuko was done. That was all the petting she was going to get? Surely if she looked cute enough, Ikuko would continue! Luna mewed, using her head to butt against the woman's hand. Pet me, she said with her eyes. Aren't I a cute kitty? Pet me?

Luna had realized long ago that humans responded more favorably to sickeningly sweet expressions and behavior than to when she didn't dumb herself down. She'd made her peace with it and moved on. But this time, her wide eyes and lowering of her ears didn't seem to be working.

"I'm sorry, Luna, but I need to get back to making dinner." Ikuko patted her again and bent down to pick up her food bowl. "Look, see? I left you some turkey I had for lunch."

Luna sat back on her haunches and looked at the food bowl that was so close to her nose she had to cross her eyes. It did smell delicious… But no! Luna shook her head, looking back up into pretty brown eyes. She wasn't going to let food get in the way of happiness! Tensing her back legs, she jumped onto Ikuko's shoulders, immediately draping herself around the back of her neck. The woman had nicely put her deep blue hair in a bun, which meant Luna didn't have to tangle her way through it. She settled in to purr noisily.

Luna knew she was able to get away with the maneuver because she was naturally small, she was normally calmer than Earth cats, due to her human-like brain, and Ikuko appreciated her company. Luna knew that was the main reason. Laying her chin onto fuzzy paws, she snuggled in, trying to give the woman some companionship.

Huffing softly in exasperation, Ikuko reached up to give her ears a quick stroke, tsking a little before she continued getting ready to feed her family. With barely a stoop to the woman's shoulders, Luna was very comfortable.

The first time Luna had bounded up Ikuko's arm as she knelt down to pet the black feline, it had been as much of a shock to her as it was to the woman whose neck she hugged. While she and Usagi had gotten quite adept at the maneuver, Luna really hadn't tried to do it with anyone else besides Ami. But, claws gently digging into the yellow shirt, she had known Ikuko needed it.

Her friend's husband was becoming distant, off to work every day, tired when he was home. Her daughter was hardly ever home anymore, running off at all times of the day doing something Ikuko knew she'd just have to live with, even if she didn't know what it was. Usagi also usually dragged her cousin along, meaning Chibi-Usa didn't need her either. And her son was becoming a teenager who wanted barely anything to do with her. She had gladly given up her job to become a stay-at-home mom, but her children were becoming older and needed her less and less. She put on a brave face nevertheless, completed the chores she had every day, and smiled at her family whenever they looked at her. But inside, when she let herself slow down, alone in the house, Luna on her lap, sitting on the couch and looking around the living room she had spent most of the happiest times in her life, Ikuko Tsukino knew she was lonely.

She had been a young mother. Not yet 40, she was in the prime of her life. She was a beautiful woman with a whole life ahead of her. But she didn't have the means to go out and do anything substantial for herself. Lack of necessity had kept her from learning how to drive. Everything she needed was close enough she could take a bus or walk if her husband couldn't drive her. And even though she had close friends, they were from college, and lived far away. Ikuko felt like she was destined to do nothing but keep the house running. She loved her husband, and she loved her family, and if she could go back and live her life differently, she wouldn't change a thing. But depression had started creeping in.

Being a simple housecat, Luna was privy to all of these secrets. As Usagi had grown older, she had needed a guardian less and less, leaving Luna time to do whatever she wished to do. And what she wanted to do…

Was spend her time with Ikuko.

Luna was in trouble, and there was nothing she could do about it.


	2. Chapter 1

Safely sheltered under the curved roof of the Hikawa Jinja, tail curled around her paws, Luna watched the falling rain. Every once in a while, the damp wind would find a way to ruffle her fur. Barely acknowledging the nuisance, she would resettle herself on her feet, lost once again in the music of the raindrops. It was a pleasant downpour, smelling of spring.

A sliding door opened and closed behind her. On quiet sock covered feet, Rei walked over to sit down next to her, crossing her long legs. She gently touched the back of Luna's head. Luna slanted her eyes up to look at her.

"Watching the rain, huh?" Rei turned her head to the courtyard, removing her hand. "It is nice doing that once in a while."

Luna smiled. "Even if you are warrior of fire?"

Rei smiled back, dipping her head slightly in agreement, "Even if you are a warrior of fire. I wonder what Ami-chan would have to say about it."

A strong gust of wind interrupted Luna's answer, and she leaned against it, whiskers trembling. A gentle mist of droplets slid down her face and nose, making her sneeze, "She'd probably, ah! Excuse me." The black feline shook her head and rubbed the water away with the back of her paw. Snuffling a little to make sure no water had entered her nose, she continued, "She'd probably be able to predict the weather."

"Hey, you're right." Hiding the giggle behind a grin, Rei took a white handkerchief from somewhere inside her kimono and offered it to her, "She did know that it would rain that day we had the picnic. Even when everyone said she was crazy. None of the weather channels had predicted it. And yet, the rain came."

Luna snuffled again, leaning back on her back legs to grasp the handkerchief between her two front paws, concentrating on not dropping it. "Yeah," she mumbled, jerking her head up and down in conjunction to her paws moving down and up, sliding the white cloth over her nose and mouth. Paws really weren't meant for things that needed thumbs and ball and socket joint shoulders, she thought, gritting her teeth. When that wasn't working, she tried to hold the handkerchief still as she shook her head back and forth against it. "We shouldn't take your Senshi powers… Er, ugh. That tickles. Grr, annoying, come _on_! …Senshi powers lightly," she sneezed again.

Muffled snickers finally caught the attention of her ears, which she had laid flat in consternation. Raising her eyes to look at the girl next to her, Luna sweatdropped. She dropped her paws, making sure to still hold the handkerchief tightly, and lowered her head in a cough, red heating the fur on her cheeks.

"Hah, hah, I'm sorry, Luna. I just automatically pulled it out, and oh, hah hah, that's the funniest thing I've seen in ages! Ohhh." Rei wiped tears from her eyes, mouth wide with laughter. She hugged one of her arms around her waist, the red hakama crinkling under the force. Using her free hand, she reached over and took the white cloth back, plucking it smoothly from between the cat's paws. She shook it out before folding it to put back into her kimono, the sides of her mouth twitching up and down.

To add insult to injury, another drop of water trickled down, following the laws of gravity. Having gained size from the pockets of moisture resting on top of her fur, it was highly effective. It tickled the sensitive skin of her nose, making her sneeze again. Again, she swiped the back of her paw over her nose. "I hope I'm not getting sick," she groused.

"Me too," Rei agreed, reaching over and sliding her hands under Luna's armpits, "What would we do with our guardian stuck in bed and recuperating?" Without preamble, the small black cat was cradled in the crook of her right arm. It felt nice. The princess of Mars had a naturally high temperature, and heat radiated out from her body to stop the chills the wind had caused. A purr started deep in her chest, and she lazily bat at strands of long black hair that hung in front of her.

"Luna, stop that," Rei chided. Bringing her left arm up, the cat could see that she had grabbed the end of her kimono's long sleeve, moving her wrist down and back and to the side to get a secure hold on the fabric with her index finger and thumb. "Now hold still, okay? I promise not to poke out your eyes."

"Okay." Luna obligingly closed her eyes and tried to keep still. "But if it tickles, you can't blame me," she added, opening one eye briefly to catch the miko's small amused smile. Closing it again, she shifted, making herself comfortable. Rei really was being very nice to her.

Tenderly, as another gust of wind blew past them, Rei blotted most of the water on her head. It was a nice feeling, even when the gentle pressure caused some water to slip to her skin and make her shiver. The miko even paid special attention to her whiskers.

As the white cloth softly scraped across her nose, Luna started to feel sleepy; Rei's body heat had completely soaked into her. The girl smelled sweetly of jasmine, the subtle scent drawing her into a fragrant dream.

"Luna-chan?" Rei's voice was quiet.

"Mmrrrrew?"

"Do you need to talk?" The sleeve moved to rub between her ears.

Luna forced herself to open her eyes, to give an answer. "Why do you ask?" she yawned. Her ear twitched involuntarily.

Rei made a small noise as she resettled herself, letting go of her sleeve to switch her crossed legs. Once that was completed, she lightly ran her fingers through the black fur on the cat's stomach, "C'mon, turn over; I'll do your back." Luna, who felt like warm butter, gladly let the girl do all the work, oozing towards whatever direction she was nudged in. Finally, Rei, realizing what was going on, sighed and swung her right arm out to slide the unresisting feline over onto her lap. "I don't really know why I'm bothering," she grumbled ruefully, "Since I imagine you're just going give yourself a tongue bath right after, anyway."

Her chin and front paws resting on the miko's right thigh, Luna smiled. She figured she wouldn't tell Rei that she was correct. The black haired girl had wonderfully understanding fingers, strong and intuitive. It wasn't often that Luna got to experience her brand of affection, so she wanted to savor it as long as she could. Sailor Mars was one of the highest Senshi on the Senshi scale of petting skill.

Pretty soon after the heat started warming her belly and the smell of jasmine filled her nose again, the smooth, quick strokes of a kimono sleeve began again. Ah yes, this was ni-i-i-i-ice… While her head was nice and full of pleasure nerves, her back had a much larger area to collect sensation. Her purr rumbled through her chest again, at full force.

"Luna," Rei warned, pausing at her shoulder, "I still want to talk to you."

Oh yeah. Groaning, Luna flicked her ears towards the girl's voice, moving her tail to curl it around the side of her body. "I'm not going anywhere," she finally replied.

"I bet." Luna could hear the smile in the black haired girl's voice. The gentle petting started up, the sleeve replaced by a slightly rough palm, and accompanied by Rei's low voice, "I've seen you praying to the jinja kami several times this past week." Suddenly shifting underneath her body, Rei dropped her hand and slid it under Luna's chest.

Feeling her paws become weightless, Luna opened her eyes and realized that the miko had picked her up and was holding her in front of her face. She saw her reflection in the girl's soft purple eyes.

But what could she say?


	3. Chapter 2

Fortunately, the decision was made for her. Out of the dark sheet of rain, a tall shape walked up. Rei set Luna down. Rising, the miko went into her room to grab a towel, reappearing to hand it to Makoto, drenched and shivering under her raincoat.

The brunette smiled broadly at them, anyway. "Hey Luna, thanks Rei." Taking off her raincoat, she folded it roughly and set it down, sitting cross-legged next to it. She rubbed her face.

Nodding at her, relieved but a little sad at the girl's interruption, Luna settled down in between the two senshi.

"Hi Mako-chan," Rei watched her friend dry herself, "I see you're out and about in the rain today as well."

"Oh?" Makoto paused.

"Yep." Reaching out and lightly running her fingers down Luna's back, Rei continued, "This little one came over all by herself early this morning."

Her purr starting back up again, Luna grumbled, "Hey, I'm right here, you know."

Makoto reached out and patted Luna's head in another greeting. "What brought you out so early? I thought I was the only one who was going to show up early for the meeting today." The brunette tweaked one of her ears tenderly.

Oh, that was right. There was going to be a senshi meeting. Luna had all but forgotten. "Ohh… Nothing really," she said quickly, trying to turn the conversation away again, "Why'd you get here so early?"

Hearing Rei grumble out, "I'll get it out of you eventually," Luna was surprised to see Makoto blush. Tugging on a bang, the tall girl drew her knees into her chest. "Uhm… Luna, can you promise not to tell anyone what I'm about to say?"

Eh? Oh, this was juicy! Sitting up, the small black cat nodded. Good thing she was better with keeping secrets than Artemis!

"Okay, good." Stretching out her hands in front of her and lacing them together, Makoto brought them back to her sides. She seemed to be pausing for some reason, the sound of the rain loud in the silence.

Rei suddenly stood up, the folds of her clothing rustling. "I'll go get some tea," she said, walking past Makoto, pausing to squeeze the girl's shoulder supportively. "I'll come back when it's ready."

"Thank you." Smiling at the miko and watching her walk off, Makoto sighed, rubbing her face with her hands. "I… Luna." Her voice cracked, and a high blush appeared on her cheeks again.

Luna got up, walking forward. Butting Makoto's knee with her head, she got up on her hind legs and placed her front paws onto the girl's leg. "Mako-chan?" Had Makoto gotten a boyfriend?

"Ohh, this is so _embarrassing_." Makoto reached down and gently picked up Luna, settling her into her lap. Flicking her ears around, Luna allowed the girl to get some comfort from her presence. While Makoto wasn't the highest on the list, she wasn't the lowest, either, and Luna definitely did not mind the petting. Still, she did angle her head in such a way that she could keep one eye on the brunette's face. "I… Luna…" Makoto's voice dropped into a wistful whisper, "Have you ever been in love?"

Luna involuntarily dug her front claws into Makoto's leg, through the jeans. The hand petting her stopped. "Luna?"

Wincing at the slightly chastised tone of the teenager, Luna shook her head and retracted her claws. "Ah, Mako-chan, I apologize. You just surprised me." Deciding that it would be better if they actually talked face to face, she jumped down. Schooling her expression from one of nervousness to caring, she nodded at Makoto to continue. It wasn't the senshi of Jupiter's fault the topic of conversation was hitting close.

"Uhm, okay. That's okay. I imagine that would be a surprising thing to hear." Scratching the back of her head, Makoto bit her lip, green eyes lowering as a blush rose to her cheeks again. "You know, I thought I had been in love before. But this… This is new."

Luna watched in astonishment at the very… _schoolgirl in love _air the normally brash young woman was exhibiting. Trying to gather her wits, Luna nodded again. "Who are you in love with?"

A harsh laugh left Makoto's lips, and Luna jumped. Seeing the small cat's embarrassment at the involuntary reaction, Makoto reached out and gently rubbed her ear. She smiled when a small nose bumped against her hand, whiskers trailing across her skin as Luna sought to tell her it was okay.

"See, that's the thing." Sitting back, Makoto rolled her hands into fists next to her crossed legs. The light in her eyes dimmed, the set of her lips pinching the corners of her mouth. "Luna…"

Heart beating wildly at the intensity of the look on her friend's face, the small black cat swallowed. "Yes?"

"Can you… Is it possible to be in love with more than one person at the same time?"

* * *

Makoto's words echoed through Luna's brain for the rest of the day and far into the night. _Was _it possible to love – romantically, that is – _romantically_ love two people at the same time? Luna hadn't had the chance to ask Makoto to clarify that it was only two people and not three or four, as Rei had come back minutes later as Luna had been searching for the right thing to respond with, but that seemed a little excessive, anyway. Regardless, she couldn't come up with an answer. Love was love, and though not being in the same boat as Makoto, Luna could definitely relate to her on some level.

"_Luna_…" Usagi's voice came out breathy and sleepy, "You're thinking so loud it's keeping me up."

Freezing, Luna looked up from where she had been absently licking her paw. "Oh, I'm sorry," she slipped her paws under her body, sinking farther into Usagi's pillow.

"No, no, it's all good." Sighing and smacking her lips together, the blonde pushed her covers down and sat up, scooting back to lean against her headboard; Luna rode out the resulting dips and shifting of the mattress. "Do ya wanna talk about it?" she yawned, eyes searching to meet Luna's in the light of the moon shining from outside.

Luna's tail tensed, and she pushed down the feeling of panic that almost instantly rose up in her chest. She loved Usagi dearly, felt like she could tell her anything and expect a level of secrecy, but really – the two things occupying her mind weren't things she'd feel comfortable (at _all_) sharing with the young blonde. No matter how much she'd matured.

Makoto's worries were her own, and it wasn't up to Luna to discuss it with anyone. As for Usagi's mother… Her heart constricted in her chest, and she clicked her teeth together to get rid of the uncomfortable feeling.

Anyway, Usagi had woken herself up enough, worried about Luna, so she should find _something _to talk about, or else it wouldn't be fair to the blonde. "Usagi-chan…" she started slowly, sitting up straight, curling her tail around her paws, "Do you… Ever wonder how long it will be until Crystal Tokyo?"

Usagi blinked, tilting her head. "Well… I try not to. I'd be lying if I said I _never _thought about it, but it seems so _far _away. I know I'll be ruling with Chibi-Usa in a thousand years, but I've never asked Setsuna-san for the exact date I _create_ Crystal Tokyo."

Luna studied her, asking quietly, "Are you scared to?"

Usagi looked away. Her response was equally quiet, "Why would I want to know the day everything changes?"

"What do you mean?"

"Luna…" Sitting forward a little and pulling an unresisting Luna onto her lap, Usagi started stroking the area between her ears, "When Crystal Tokyo forms, I won't be Tsukino Usagi anymore. I won't be _normal_." Her fingers slid down to run along her spine. "Will I lose my friends? My family?" Her hand paused, "My _real _family. Mama, Papa, Shingo-kun… Will they even be _around _when I become… When I suddenly become the ruler of Earth?"

Luna stared down at the comforter. She'd never thought of that before. Her heart started to ache with the possibilities Usagi's words were bringing up.

"Will they even be _alive_?"

Luna pushed herself up, turning around. "Usagi-chan…?" she breathed, seeing glistening tears starting to slip down her charge's cheeks.

Usagi bit her lip, but she didn't try to wipe the tears away. "Luna, I'm pretty much immortal, right? But Mama…" Her voice grew husky and broke, "Mama and Papa and my – my brother aren't. Naru-chan isn't. No one but Mamo-chan, the senshi, and you and Artemis, right?" Usagi shook her head, and a guilty expression flowed across her face, "But sometimes I think that's a good thing."

Luna swallowed. Wanting to comfort Usagi but not knowing how, she dipped her head, "Why?"

"Because they won't get the chance to see just what I am. What I'm meant to be. What I'm _going _to be. Of course," Usagi laughed humorlessly, shaking her head, "That's not saying that they don't notice when I suddenly stop _aging_. Don't you think they'd be afraid of me? Hate me?"

"Usagi…" Luna wished that in her current form she could cry for her friend.

"No, no," Usagi shook her head, lifting her hands to scrub her face and attempting a watery smile, "It's okay. I know there's nothing to say." Dropping one hand and affectionately rubbing Luna's cheek, she took in a deep breath, "It's not like I can tell them beforehand, now can I?"


End file.
